Skip to content

Meet the leaders in our national young farmer program


Every year our industry is refreshed with new generations of egg farmers—from new farmers making a start in egg farming for the first time, to those carrying on the family farm.

We proudly support these young leaders through our national young farmer program. The program empowers young egg farmers to deepen their industry knowledge and leadership skills, connect with peers and share best practices.

Meet the leaders in the 2020-2021 national young farmer program. Read about their passion for farming and see what the future of the industry holds through their eyes.

Jared de Dood, Grindrod, British Columbia

On always wanting to be a farmer:

“I always wanted to get back to the farm. Whenever I had time off, I was coming home to work on the farm, doing field work.”

On what comes next, after building his first egg barn as a new entrant to the industry:

“I’ve got enough ideas for the next 20 years.”

Kevin Laviolette and Cassandra Quenneville, St. Isidore, Ontario

On building a powerful “buy local” brand in Ontario:

“People know us, so they end up buying from their neighbours. It’s cool to have your name on packaging, be able to sell it and to know that people like your product.”

On joining the national young farmer program:

“Meeting new people, for me, is good, because I like to know what their point of view is on the business.”

Arend Haverkamp, Listowel, Ontario

On what he learned after extensive travelling and working in various agricultural industries:

“[I] appreciate the stability of the poultry industry that we have here in Canada.”

On connecting with consumers:

“It’s important for us, as producers, to inform consumers about what farmers really do, to break down those barriers.”

Andrew and Pam Monchuk, Lanigan, Saskatchewan

On why they diversified their farm operation by adding an egg barn:

“Egg farming isn’t as impacted as heavily by Mother Nature…coming off years of floods or years of droughts or bad crops or poor crop prices, it looked like a good option for us.”

On raising their children—seven-year old Ruby and four-year old twins Alex and Mae—on the farm:

“They are excited to come to work with me in the morning, especially working with the birds. It’s something they can help with. It’s valuable to have their help, for them to learn some responsibility, to learn work ethic, to learn about food production.”

Pascale Mageau-Béland, Plaisance, Quebec

On the moment Pascale and her husband Marco decided to start their egg farm while working as engineers:

“We realized that we do like our jobs… but we also loved to spend time at the farm and being involved with that. So we spoke with my father and asked how we could get more involved.”

On the benefits of connecting with other young leaders through the national young farmer program:

“I’m interested to meet other young farmers like us… we learn differently, and have different ideas.”